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Urban Earth Flower and Garden Cooperative
Co-op members preparing the store for opening day.
Did you know?
- For every $100 spent at a chain store, only $14 stays in a local community - when that same $100 is spent in a local business, $45 stays there.
In early 2006 a group of energetic neighbors living in South Minneapolis decided they wanted to open a garden store in their neighborhood. They contacted and hired us in May 2006 to provide business development and organizational expertise to support their inititative to open a member-owned Flower and Garden Cooperative Store.
We served as consultants in the planning, education, community building, communication and feasibility phases of their project. This included public engagement and community building around the cooperative project, and researching market feasibility, preparing business plans and membership base building strategies for the business.
Work on this project moved at a rapid pace: the cooperative signed a lease for a 3,200 square foot garden store in Fall 2006 and began operations on October 1, 2006. The cooperative formally incorporated under Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 308A, on November 22 2006, and held its first annual meeting, approving its Bylaws and electing a Board of Directors, on January 15 2007.
Urban Earth, at 36th Street and Bryant Avenue, in Minneapolis.
Today, Urban Earth Cooperative is a thriving community-owned retail business offering traditional, exotic, heirloom and native varieties of vegetable, herbs, and flowers, and a variety of growing products and accessories for indoor and outdoor landscaping. The cooperative also offers flower arranging, cut flower delivery, bouquet walk-in service and indoor plant products year round. Additionally, the store offers community education and outreach programming including gardening workshops, and arts and crafts fairs and related activities. Future programming includes Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) drop-off, farmers markets, cooperative education and other services.
Our involvement in this project highlights our commitment to supporting local economic development by working directly with aspiring entrepreneurs and providing access to tools and know-how that lead a venture to success. We believe that small businesses are assets to communities in multiple ways, and increase livability, and community interconnectedness while supporting walkable modes of development, and building wealth that benefits local places.
Resources
- Store website: Urban Earth Flower and Garden Cooperative >
- More information on developing a cooperative business >
Gay Noble, Project Manager
Flower and Garden Store Exploratory Committee
910 West 36th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55408
email: gnoble2005 at msn.com
phone: 612.824.0066
Contact: